


Understanding and Fear

by queenofkadara



Series: The World and All Its Lessons: A Song of Aloy and Nil [1]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, I wish this could happen in the game, My favorite ship, OTP Feels, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 23:39:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11588541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofkadara/pseuds/queenofkadara
Summary: Aloy has a brief introspective moment with Nil before a battle.A/N: This is my first foray into HZD fanfic! I'm planning at least two longfics focused on Aloy/Nil, but for now, this oneshot is an intro to my writing style.Comments are always, always appreciated! <3





	Understanding and Fear

Aloy crouched in the long grass beside Nil, her mind focused on the impending battle. _I’ll take out the scouts on the ramparts first,_ she thought to herself. _Nil can take out the ones on the ground. Then we’ll move in on the camp proper._

She was so focused that a sudden slight pressure at her temple startled her and she jerked away. She stared at Nil, his index finger still outstretched from where he had touched her old scar above her eyebrow. “What happened here?” he asked, his voice pitched low. 

Aloy gazed at him in surprise and some impatience. He was the one who was obsessed with killing bandits, and now, right as Aloy was about to discuss strategy with him, he decides to start asking questions? 

Aloy sighed and rubbed at the scar. “A boy from the village threw a rock at me when I was little.”

“Why?” Nil asked, and Aloy shrugged. “Because I’m an outcast. I was… different. He didn’t know anything about me, so he was scared of me and hated me.” 

She shook her head slightly, but she spoke with no rancor. Her memories of Bast were a confusing mix now. She had always harboured a special hatred for him during her childhood, but that had mellowed into contempt as soon as she’d met him before the Proving and realized he was a narcissistic, insecure man-child. Then she’d respected him for his courage during the horrific attack after the Proving… right before he died trying to get to Vala. He’d died before Aloy could ever know if they could have been friends. 

She turned to look at Nil, her head tilted. “Why do you think people fear and hate what they don’t understand? Shouldn’t understanding come first, _then_ fear if the fear is warranted?” 

Nil paused, his lips pulling down at the corners in thought. Then he shrugged. “Fear is a natural animal instinct, as natural as the whisper of breath or the beat of a heart.” 

“But we should try to be better than animals. Shouldn’t we?” Aloy argued. “We have the use of tools that animals don’t have, language and clothing. If we don’t think before instinct, what’s the point?” 

Nil was quiet for another moment, and Aloy waited patiently for his response. She was genuinely curious to hear what he thought, because he was so unusual: poetic but bloodthirsty, absolutely polite in conversation but terrifyingly savage in battle. He was probably the most unusual person she had yet met. 

Finally Nil spoke, but his words were as irreverent as his smirk. “You can think, I’ll be the instinct. That’s what makes this partnership a beautiful thing.”

Aloy huffed out a rueful breath. _I’m not sure what else I expected,_ she thought in resignation. She jerked her chin towards the bandit camp. “Ready?” 

Nil grinned at her, his pale silvery eyes glinting in the afternoon sun. “Always.”


End file.
